Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Steve Murrell
MAKING DISCIPLES: THE wikichurch study guide
Copyright © 2012 by Steve Murrell
Published by Every Nation Productions
P.O. Box 12229 Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Philippines
email: productions@everynation.org.ph
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible,
New International Version®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2010 International Bible Society.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Preface
Chapter 1 Introduction:
Building Churches or Making Disciples? 3
Afterword
p r ef a ce
building churches
or making disciples?
Jesus told His followers that He would build His church. What He
told them to do was make disciples. It’s that simple. We do not build
the church, and He no longer makes disciples. It is our job to make
disciples, and He will build those disciples into His church.
WHAT IS DISCIPLESHIP?
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I send you out to fish for people.”
Matthew 4:19
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I send you out to fish for people.”
Matthew 4:19
9
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew
sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and
Matthew got up and followed him. 10While Jesus was having
dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners”
came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees
saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with
tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” 12On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is
not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn
what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not
come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matthew 9:9-13
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.
6
7
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything,
but only God, who makes things grow. 8The man who plants
and the man who waters have one purpose,
and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.
1 Corinthians 3:6-8
Too often we act like only full-time ministers or people who have been
Christians for a long time can make disciples. Jesus’ command to make
disciples in Matthew 28 was given to fishermen and tax collectors who
questioned, doubted, and even denied Jesus. Spiritual progress, not
perfection, qualifies a person to make disciples.
• No matter where you work.
• No matter what your age.
• No matter when you started following.
11
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets,
some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
12
to prepare God’s people to works of service . . .
Ephesians 4:11,12, NIV (1984)
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16
Value is determined by the price one is willing to pay. God paid the
ultimate price to redeem the lost. Since God places such a high value on
lost people, we must learn to see them the way He sees them.
Every one wants to make disciples, but many try, fail, then quit. Why?
I think the easiest and most common way to fail at discipleship is to
import a model or copy a method that worked somewhere else without
first understanding the values that create a healthy discipleship culture.
In the rest of this study, we will take a look at the discipleship process
and the values they are based upon, exploring how to:
(8)
• culture and community
(9)
• biblical foundations
(10)
• believers to minister
(11)
• disciples to make disciples
BL
en
ISH
ER W
EQ
PO UI
EM P
Engage culture
Relational Share the gospel
and community
Establish biblical
Spiritual Strong foundations
foundations
Equip believers
Intentional Basic ministry skills
to minister
Empower disciples Ministry confidence
Missional
to make disciples and competence
NINETY-NINE OR ONE?
When Jesus told His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations,
none of them thought He meant for them to gather up all those who
already followed Jesus and help them do it better. They were under
no illusion that they could obey Jesus’ command without actively
engaging nonbelievers.
ENGAGE
“Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around
to hear him. 2But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Luke 15:1,2
Setting up the context for the parables, Luke describes a situation that
occurred rather frequently in Jesus’ life and ministry—Jesus was found
spending time with religious outsiders—tax collectors, prostitutes,
Samaritans, and lepers. This intentional engagement with lost people
earned Him the pejorative label—“friend of sinners.”
Engaging the lost usually involves moving out of our comfort zones.
Why? Because lost people generally don’t hang out in the same places
that Christians do. Hoping that unbelievers will randomly walk into
our church is naïve and lazy.
8
“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one.
Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until
she finds it? 9And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors
together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’”
Luke 15:8,9
Just like the woman who searched her house until she found the lost
coin, so we should persistently pray for and engage the lost until they
are found in Christ. This often involves building long-term relational
bridges with lost people.
4. Celebrate .(4)
5
And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home.
Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says,
‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’
Luke 15:5,6
9
And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors
together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’
10
In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence
of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Luke 15:9,10
20
So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still
a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion
for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him
and kissed him… 23‘Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have
a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again;
he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
-Luke 15:20, 23,24
Ninety-nine or One? 13
All three parables have this in common—there is great rejoicing when
the lost are found.
The parable of the lost son gives us the fullest insight into how our
Father responds when sinners repent. He throws a party. Do we
respond like our Father when lost sons and daughters come home or do
we respond like the self-righteous elder brother?
Faith
-10 -5 0 5 10
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
facades
or foundations?
24
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine
and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house
on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose,
and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall,
because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone
who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice
is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
27
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew
and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Matthew 7:24-27
ESTABLISH
and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house
on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose,
and the winds blew and beat against that house;
yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”
Matthew 7:24,25
Too many Christians are leaning and falling, not because of the
intensity of the storms, but because of weak foundations. It is not
enough to have a good façade; we must build strong foundations
by establishing believers in the faith, in the Word, and in the
church community.
Facades or Foundations? 17
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
maturity
or ministry?
the pastors and teachers, 12to equip His people for works of service,
so that the body of Christ may be built up…
Ephesians 4:11,12
EQUIP
11
So Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists,
the pastors and teachers, 12to equip His people for works of service,
so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we reach unity
in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature,
attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-13
(4)
1. The Truth of
A pastor’s job is not primarily to minister to people but to equip
people to minister to others. Life, church, and ministry are not
primarily about the people in the pews. They are about God and
others (Ephesians 4:11).
(5)
2. The Truth of
While some members may not feel ready yet, God is ready to use
them now. Even if they’re too young or have lost their temper yesterday
and used a word the pastor would never use on Sunday, God wants to
use them (Ephesians 4:12).
(6)
3. The Truth of
We can’t wait until every believer feels mature enough to minister
because no one will mature until they minister. This is one of those
chicken and egg conundrums. Which comes first—ministry or
maturity? When we look at the Bible, it seems that ministry does
(Ephesians 4:13).
Maturity or Ministry? 21
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
• What excuses have you used in the past to prove that you weren’t yet
ready to minister?
professionals
or volunteers?
1
When Jesus had called the Twelve together, He gave them power
and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases,
2
and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God
and to heal the sick.
Luke 9:1,2
EMPOWER
1
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the
Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2and asked him for letters to
the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged
to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to
Jerusalem…. 13He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food,
he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples
in Damascus. 20At once he began to preach in the synagogues
that Jesus is the Son of God.
Acts 9:1-2;18-20
18
. . . He got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some food,
he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples
in Damascus. 20At once he began to preach in the synagogues
that Jesus is the Son of God.
Acts 9:18-20
When Jesus had called the Twelve together, He gave them power
1
After equipping, empowering, and sending them out, Jesus always had
debriefing sessions when His disciples returned. They reported victories
and defeats. They asked questions. Jesus corrected their lack of faith and
their selfish attitudes.
The equipping process did not end when they were empowered; it
continued and intensified after they were empowered.
(4)
4. Empowering is but .(5)
Often the underlying fear behind our hesitancy to empower disciples
is the fear that they will make mistakes in ministry. Of course they will.
Didn’t Peter? Didn’t John? Didn’t Paul? Didn’t you?
Professionals or Volunteers? 25
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
easy or simple?
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you;
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea
and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8
Jesus will build His church. And He will empower us to make disciples.
As you begin to obey Jesus’ call to make disciples, here are a few
important things to remember:
(1)
1. Principles and Process not
(2)
and
Don’t take the easy route and copy a model that seems to be working
somewhere else. Do the hard work of discovering principles and
applying them in your own culture and in your own community.
A model that works somewhere else probably will not work for you,
but principles are universal and timeless.
2. Less is .(3)
Everything you do as a church will either underline or undermine
the disciple-making process. If what you are doing does not help you
engage your community, establish foundations, equip believers, and
empower disciples, then eliminate it. Commit yourself to mastering just
one move—making disciples. Do less and accomplish more.
Worship
services 16 20 23 31 32 40 52 59 62 73 81 91 94
Small groups 518 637 913 1,270 2,578 3,072 3,334 3,443 3,657 3,573 3,482 5,009 4,853
Weekend
attendance 4,900 5,700 7,100 11,500 14,100 18,600 23,900 28,358 34,877 37,200 44,275 50,603 60,236
3. Slow is .(4)
Making disciples is simple but it’s not easy. Many people commit to a
discipleship process only to grow tired and frustrated when they don’t
see instant growth. Unfortunately, most quit too soon. It is God who
makes things grow. It is our job to faithfully make disciples and see
what He does with them.
55,000
50,000
45,000
40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Easy or Simple? 29
Afterword
Whether you have followed Jesus for decades or for just a few weeks,
I hope this book has provoked and inspired you to follow Jesus with
greater intensity and to make disciples with greater intentionality.
How? By engaging your culture and community, establishing biblical
foundations, equipping believers to minister, and empowering disciples
to make disciples—making His last command your first priority.